i'm dreaming while i'm wide awake

so much blogging...i'm just going to get right to it. we all know the best thing about blogs are pictures, so to please the waiting world (aka my mom) here are a bunch of pictures.

one afternoon after class a bunch of us headed out to the old city to just look around. we visited a few random churches on the via dolorosa. it was a great afternoon and a blast to just get out.


last night we had our "night at the oscars" film festival night. it was crazy getting everything ready for it but it turned out amazingly. everyone dressed up in way creative outfits and really just made the event super fun. we had 17 movies and 18 awards....it was a long night but still a blast.

this is me and bod, gosh i love this girl.

this picture describes us perfectly....
bod: "here hold my leg"
mandy: "wait i have a cookie in my hand"
lydia: couldn't stop laughing
jane: "wait where am i looking"

this is the whole gang all dressed up and on stage. these people have truly become my family here in jeru. it wouldn't be the same without all 78 of them.

don't worry i've been looking for the perfect wedding dress. its hard not to considering there are dress stores all over. after months and months of searching bod and i finally found it.....yeah right

we had the chance to go visit the separation wall about a week ago. i've heard about this wall my whole life but i never really knew much about it. after spending a day learning and listening about the conflict my eyes have been opened to what is really happening over here. i now have my own personal opinions about the conflict that i could share but i wont.

all i can say right now is in this picture.

on a less intense note....
field trip day is always exciting. yesterday we stayed in the city and explored around the temple mount. this is me, ash, bod and rachel doing dance moves on the steps to the temple. we keep ourselves entertained.

nights here in the center are not all that exciting. a few weeks ago chap, bod, mandy, lyds and i decided to head over the west jeru for some waffles (my favorite thing here in jeru). we spent the night eating, laughing, shopping and of course taking tons of pictures. it was a great night out in the city.

so one sunday a bunch of us went out for breakfast to celebrate trisha's birthday. we spent the day doing fun stuff as always. on our way to west jeru from breakfast we found this fun thing....

as you can see we don't really know what this is...

my guess is that its some kind of ancient childrens toy.

.....oh well???




so this picture...we had a sweet awesome poetry slam a few weeks ago. it was a rush of an activity and so i kinda forgot to take pictures. this is one of two pictures i took that night. i have no idea when this was taken and i'm sure i didn't know it was being taken but i love it anyways.

this is jane and i.
we looked like this most of the show.
the poetry slam was a hit!

this is didi and i with one of the cutest little palestinian girls. becca was so nice and let me come along to visit this family. at first it was a little awkward but in the end i loved it so much. we ate, danced, talked and even had make-up put on for us...this is the after picture!

bethlehem field trip was one of my favorites!
this is rachel, bod, me, mandy, and rachelle in front of the peace stone...
yes they have a peace stone, then again who doesn't?

now that we only have two classes we have a lot more free time! i love free time.
this is a bunch of us girlies while visiting a monastry.
i love covering my hair. i might start rocking the head scarf back in provo!

can i just say how much i love bro. brown. he is one of our directors here at the center. he is probably the most hilarious people that i know. his smart shy humor just gets to me.
this is brent, bro. brown and i right in front of where christ was born...
magical....yes!
wow i have a lot of pictures in this post...
anyways this is rachel, me, bod, steph and mandy underneath the muslim quarter.
we are standing next to the western wall. this wall is thousands of years old and stood at the time of the temple.
i was in awe as i considered where i was really standing.
i still can't believe that i'm here in this place and seeing the things i'm seeing. i'm pretty much the luckiest girl in the world.

this is my new favorite spot of the old city.

there is a lot of spectulation of where christ was and where he wasn't while he lived in jerusalem but as far as anyone can say they are for sure that christ would have walked right where my feet are in this picture.

it was so simple but yet so powerful for me standing where my savior once stood. i know it really doesn't matter that i was standing there because he is my savior no matter what but it really made this whole experience even more special.

after finals we all needed a break. all 70ish of us loaded onto buses at 6 in the morning and headed down to eliat to do a little snorkeling and beach bumming. it was an amazing day to say the least. i didn't take a lot of pictures because i spent my time laughing, swimming, and just chillin on the beach.

i'm a total beach babe through and through.

the water was amazingly blue.
the day perfectly warm.
the company pretty awesome.
yep it was a great day.

i only have 5 weeks left here. the time is going all to fast! i love my life. if anybody has the chance to come to the holy land i highly suggest it. my life has been changed because of the last three months of my life.

peace and love from the holy land.